ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.- Sonoco ThermoSafe, a unit of Sonoco (NYSE:SON) and a leading global provider of temperature assurance packaging, has launched the industry's first academic offering to train and certify cold chain packaging professionals. The certification program was developed by Sonoco ThermoSafe's ISCLabs in partnership with The Packaging School; Dr. R. Andrew Hurley, assistant professor of packaging science at Clemson University; and an advisory panel of pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, logistics providers and industry experts.

Founded in 1989, ISCLabs was the first temperature controlled packaging design and testing laboratory. Today, it marks another milestone with the launch of the industry's first temperature assurance packaging (TAP) certification program.

"The TAP program shares decades' worth of ISCLabs' collective knowledge in design, development and qualification of temperature controlled packaging," said Vishal Khushalani, director of global marketing and business development, Sonoco ThermoSafe. "The course goes further to cover temperature monitoring, global regulations, distribution considerations of temperature sensitive products, and more."

Based on customer feedback, two levels of certification courses were created. The first level, the "Fundamentals Course," offers participants a systematic approach to foundational understanding of temperature assurance packaging. The second level, the "Professional Course," is a one-day, live training conducted by university professors, laboratory engineers and industry experts with hands-on instruction and interactive activities. Learn more.

"The Professional Course will debut at the 14th Cold Chain GDP & Temperature Management Logistics Global Forum in Boston, Mass., Sept. 2016," said Khushalani.

"We are honored to have Sonoco ThermoSafe as our inaugural corporate partner for The Packaging School's customizable learning platform," said Dr. R. Andrew Hurley, who is also chief learning officer at The Packaging School. "I am looking forward to receiving one-on-one feedback from many of our students at the September Professional Course offering."

IQPC's Cold Chain Divisional Director, Claudia Rubino, emphasized the value of the TAP certification program. "The goal is for both this session and the conference to provide detailed, holistic education our audience can use to impact their organizations in a tangible way. Through the years, we've seen that thermal packaging continues to be a major focus, both for its challenges and opportunities."